Friday, October 27, 2006

This Tiki Barber retirement story just keeps getting better and better. First, it is reported, kind of out of the blue, that Tiki will retire after the season. Then, Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin both say that this will be a distraction/won't help the Giants. Then, Tiki gets on his high horse and calls these two idiots and uses a big word that most NFL players would never use.

That includes Tom Jackson on ESPN. That includes the ultimate character guy, facetiously speaking of course, Michael Irvin (ESPN). Please get a clue on how to be a journalist.

Fantastic! I'm sure neither one of these guys likes to get called out like that, although Irvin might not know what facetiously means since he did attend Tha U (Univ. of Miami that is, lately better known for stomping on people than anything else). Tom Jackson decided that he had torespond and try to look intelligent by using more big words.

"I was asked an opinion about a subject, just the way he is often asked anopinion about a myriad of topics, a plethora of things," Jackson told The Post.

Way to go Tom! You know how to use a dictionary and look like an asshat too! You know, back in school, people who used big words just to show off their impressive vocabulary were still tools.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

FIFA revealed that, shockingly, soccer players were taking dives in the World Cup and feigning injuries.

'Fifty-eight per cent of the players who were treated on the pitch during the 2006 World Cup eventually turned out not to be injured,' confirmed FIFA in a statement.

Wow. I'm glad it only took them 4 months to do the research and compile a report saying this. I could have told you this after watching this Cristiano Ronaldo video below. This is an even better video but Youtube won't let me post it.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while now but I recently had a little online discussion with Mr. Irrelevant regarding the best WRs of this generation and I thought I should post it after that. First, though, here is a little recap of what brought this about.

Mr. Irrelevant argued that Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt are the best and he excluded Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, and Steve Smith because they are either inconsistent or have had brief careers. I disagreed and said that Owens (and probably Moss) should be included in any discussion about the best WRs of this generation based on their stats and he responded. See here. Mister Irrelevant gave additional reasons for their exclusion: being bad teammates, missing games and having “clunker” seasons in their careers.

My brief (and probably inadequate) response to his rebuttal: Owens has produced 5 Pro Bowl seasons since 2000 (the year he really stopped being second fiddle to Jerry Rice) and if the Philadelphia situation had played out differently he would have had another one in 2005. Holt, Harrison, and Moss have 4, 7 and 7 respectively. So, there isn’t really a statistical clunker for Owens save last season’s debacle since early in his career. Over the course of his career Owens has missed 18 games, 9 of which came from the suspension last year, compared to 6, 2 and 3 for Harrison, Holt and Moss. By far the most but he is by far the most physical of these receivers and that has to play into the injury situation. And, as far as bad teammates go, I can’t really argue that because he obviously isn’t one of the best but at least he has a passion for the game.

So, that leads me to my explanation of why I am a Terrell Owens fan.

Quite simply, I love the way Owens plays football. I’ll admit his off-field antics are distracting but I don’t care about that. I like players who play with passion, make big plays, and will do the dirty work. Owens does this; he catches the ball, he is a deep threat, scores touchdowns, goes across the middle and is a good blocker for a wide receiver. Quite simply, he is the most complete receiver in the game and is the prototype for many of the receivers these days: big, fast and athletic.

Moreover, he has an extreme passion to win and you can see this in his sideline antics. He just wants to win. He is a big-play receiver and getting the ball to him will most likely only help you win. I admire this trait in him because I think at this point in many of the NFL players’ careers they don’t have the same desire as Owens.

Finally, the guy is tough as nails. Remember his recovery from a broken ankle to play in the Super Bowl? How about the fact that he is playing with a plate in his hand right now? He didn’t miss a game with a broken finger (thanks to the bye week). He just wants to be on the field and make plays. I can hang with that.

Now, I have admitted that I like Terrell Owens and there aren’t many of us in existence but I am ok with it.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The Winslow family suffered a great loss recently with HOF Tight End Kellen Winslow, Sr. lost his son Justin K.B. Winslow suddenly. The death is under investigation and I wish the Winslow family all the best in this hard time for them and I don't mean to make light of the situation but the SI.com article was a bit confusing.

Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. attended a funeral on Tuesday for his younger brother, Justin K.B. Winslow, who died suddenly last week in Kansas City, Mo. He was 23. The eldest son of Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow Sr. was found unconscious on Oct. 12 by his mother, Dawnn Wimes O'Bannon.

So, Justin was Kellen Winslow, Jr.'s "younger brother" and the "eldest son" of Kellen Winslow, Sr.? How does that work? Methinks the editor messed up.

In this little insular world of sports blogging there are many inside jokes that take a long time to explain to others and are usually not as funny to those receiving the explanation. Consequently, it is probably better not to explain and not include them on the joke. But, every once in a while, if we are lucky, the inside joke escapes the blogging bubble and hits the so-called 'mainstream' and may require some explanation. Recently, one of these moments occurred on the teen show "Veronica Mars" on the CW and I had to give an explanation as to why I was keeled over with laughter.

Before you watch the clip, I suggest checking out the classically bad amateur sports broadcaster who originated the "boom goes the dynamite" phrase, here, especially if you're not familiar with the reference.

Now, see it, in the mainstream below. Big thanks to Deadspin commenter Scotty_Cooper for pointing me to this clip.

Monday, October 16, 2006

This past weekend Chelsea played Reading in a Premiership match, which Chelski won 1-0. It was an incredibly strange game for Chelsea that ended with the English skipper minding net in the dying minutes of the match. Here's the video story of how Terry became keeper:

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Still alive. I've just been really busy recently. Just some quick hits here for each of my teams:

Liverpool--the team still is really inconsistent, sitting mid-table and 8 points back of leaders Chelsea and ManU. Benitez really needs to get a good line-up and stick with it rather than constantly tinkering.Hertha--the squad lost to Bayern Munich this weekend and tumbled from the top of the table to 7th, but that is only 3 points back. Hertha also crashed out of the UEFA Cup tournament recently. That means the squad only has Bundesliga to worry about now.AS Roma--Still atop Serie A but recently lost to Valencia in the Champions League group play.Valencia--the Ches were in first in La Liga, but a loss to mid-table Celta Vigo today and a likely win by Barca over Sevilla will drop the to second or third.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Randy Moss could learn a thing or two from Manchester City player, Joey Barton, who showed Everton fans his pasty white ass this past weekend. Barton could face suspension for his actions, I hope it was worth it.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Let me just get this out there up front, I am a Tiger Woods fan and will always be one, but, as a sports fan I question his sports "fandom." Recently, Tiger has been spotted supporting some high profile athletes and teams. He was seen in Roger Federer's tennis box at the U.S. Open, while Federer was battling American Andy Roddick. Tiger was also the personal guest of Andriy Shevchenko at a recent Chelsea soccer match. Both Chelsea and Federer are teams/athletes at the pinnacle of their respective sports. Federer has 9 of 12 grand slam events and Chelsea has won the last two Premiership titles. Frankly, I don't think Tiger is a big fan of tennis and certainly not soccer after his recent comments and being seen at these events opens him to criticism as bandwagon fan. Ultimately, I think Tiger's ability to be a sports fan is a result of his personal make-up and he may not be able to help it, but it is subject to criticism. (Although, I will allow that Tiger could say he has always been a fan but I would skeptical.) Let me explain.

First, Tiger is one of, if not the, greatest golfers of all time and one of the most talented athletes ever. If he is not already deserving, Tiger will soon be in the pantheon of all-time greats where his peers will be Jordan, Ali, Nicklaus and others. Because of this, Tiger might have difficulty being a fan of anybody who is not at the pinnacle of performance in their sports.

Second, during his career Tiger has proven himself to be the ultimate frontrunner. He always wins the majors with a 54-hole lead. In spite of, or maybe because of, this, he hasn't demonstrated the ability to come from behind to win any of these and he wins most of his other events by going into the final round with a share of the lead. Woods' outstanding abililty always puts him out front and he probably can't relate to teams/athletes that come from behind, he just doesn't do that.

Now, Tiger can support whomever he pleases but his "fandom" seems to be front-runners and established superstars/powers. I would bet good money that Tiger is a Yankees, Lakers, Heat, or any other perennial or current power in a sport. I can just see Tiger, two years ago, doffing a Red Sox cap and being a bandwagon fan so many despise. I'd just like to see Tiger select a rooting interest where winning or greatness is occasional and not the norm. Maybe he can't fight his tendencies but it would be easier to relate to him if he did.